Here’s a simple way of thinking about how to relate to your Creator today: God has ways and God has made paths. As men and women created in his image, our lives should be spent learning his ways and walking in his paths. Those terms come from the prophecy of Micah 4:1-2:
It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the LORD
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and it shall be lifted up above the hills;
and peoples shall flow to it,
and many nations shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the teaching,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
This is the era in which you and I live–the “latter days” (Acts 2:14-17; Heb 1:1-2; James 5:3; 1 Pet 1:20-21). If you’re interested in learning more about the prophecy’s fulfillment, you should read the book of Acts in the New Testament of the Bible. It’s all about people from many nations being taught the word of the LORD (Acts 1-2) and the good news about Jesus streaming from Jerusalem in every direction (Acts 3-28). But don’t lose sight of this simple way we’ve been given to think about how to relate to our Creator today: God has ways and God has made paths.
God told us a very long time ago that he, his ways, and his thoughts are different.
“Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa 55:6-9)
God has ways, and so do we. The question is, whose ways are best? Whose thoughts are wiser? Whose perspective is clearer? Whose insights are more informed? Who has more experience? Am I really going to be so arrogant and shortsighted as to act as if I know better than an infinite, all-knowing, perfectly holy God? If not (and that’s absolutely the right call), my will must submit to his will. My ways must yield to his ways. My thoughts must conform to his thoughts, and the good news is, his teaching is readily available.
But remember, we’ve been given two ways of thinking about how to relate to our Creator today: God has ways and God has made paths. It’s good to learn his ways, but the goal of the learning is the walking. After all, what good will it really do me to have been taught God’s will and learned his ways if I don’t walk in his paths? Those paths have been blazed by the wisdom and force of his ways. They’ve been maintained for millennia as real men and women humbly trusted his ways and engaged their wills to hike his paths. Once again, God told us a very long time ago that his paths aren’t overcrowded.
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matt 7:13-14)
God has ways and God has provided the path. It’s not always easy, and the hikers on this path won’t always be in the majority, but the ways are right and the path leads to life.
So here’s a simple way of thinking about how to relate to your Creator today: God has ways and God has made paths. As men and women created in his image, our lives should be spent learning his ways and walking in his paths.
How are you doing at that today?